Critical Thinking on Dallas, Texas Ebola Situation

Facts:

• On September 30, 2014 a press conference was held by the CDC on the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the United States.  During the press conference, Dr. Friedan noted that family members that may have come in contact with the infected individual are not being isolated but are being monitored for symptoms that may develop.
• CBS News is reporting that the EMS crew that transported the infected individual are being isolated.
• The press conference revealed that the infected individual is a visitor from the country of Liberia that was checked for symptoms before he boarded the plane to the United States.
• The press conference also revealed that the patient was admitted to the hospital on the second visit; after an initial visit to the emergency room complaining of symptoms.
• On September 16, 2014, President Obama traveled from Washington, D.C. to the CDC in Atlanta, Ga to announce a major initiative in combating Ebola.  The initiative includes sending 3,000 troops to Africa.

Questions:

• Why is the public health policy isolating one group of individuals that came in contact with the infected Ebola patient but not others?
  
  It would stand to reason that family members had longer, sustained contact with the patient than the EMS transport drivers.
  
• Is their a robust protocol in place to determine individuals presenting with symptoms have been traveling in areas infected with Ebola?  
  
  Besides wanting to help individuals that show up sick, hospitals generally want to get paid for their services.  That's why they ask not only what symptoms an individual has and how they will be paying for the services.  If the individual was not a U.S. citizen, he would have had to present an non-US form of insurance or payment form.  It stands to reason that this should have triggered (and should trigger) a protocol to determine if the individual is traveling in infected areas; especially after the President has gone out of his way to tell the world and the nation that this is a major problem.